Investigating the Factors Affecting the Export, Efficiency, and Export Capacity of Iranian Dates

Document Type : Original Research

Authors
Hossein Noroozi
Hamed Rafiee
Seyed Safdar Hosseini
Saeed Yazdani
Air Hossein Chizari
Department of Agricultural Economics, Faculty of Agriculture, College of Agriculture and Natural Resources, University of Tehran, Karaj, Islamic Republic of Iran.
Abstract
This research investigates the factors influencing Iranian date exports by utilizing panel data and employing a fixed effects model from 2001 to 2023. The findings indicate that several factors positively influence date exports. These include trade advantages, the real effective exchange rate, the disparity between Iran's GDP and that of its trading partners, the logarithm of the ratio of export prices to domestic prices, and trade agreements with target countries. Conversely, the cost of exporting agricultural products to the target country and the impact of sanctions negatively affect Iranian date exports. The average efficiency of Iranian date exports is estimated at 0.8735, indicating an export shortfall of about 22%. There is a total of $16.55 million in unused export capacity for dates, compared to actual and potential exports. During the study period, the structure of Iran's date export market varied between a tight and a loose oligopoly. It is crucial to prioritize the enhancement and development of supply chains for Iran's main export products. The main challenges in the supply chain for these products involve acquiring production inputs, as well as the processes of packaging, sorting, and transportation.
Keywords
Clustering
Export gap
Market structure
Revealed comparative advantage
Stochastic frontier analysis
Subjects
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Journal of Agricultural Science and Technology
Volume 28, Issue 4
July and August 2026
Pages 815-827